U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that TRENISE DEBOUE MURPHY, age 52, of New Orleans, pled guilty today to a one-count Bill of Information charging her with conspiring to commit theft of government funds.
According to court documents, MURPHY submitted an application to receive housing assistance from the Jefferson Parish Housing Authority (“JPHA") through the Housing Choice Voucher Program (“HCVP"). MURPHY listed her family composition as she, her son, and her daughter. The defendant did not include her husband, who owned the residence in which they lived, in her family composition. As a result of that representation, as well as yearly recertification paperwork she filed that indicated that she was unmarried and that hid the fact that her “landlord" was actually her husband, the JPHA provided housing assistance on behalf of MURPHY between September 2003 and September 2012, in the amount of approximately $68,593.00.
MUPRHY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. U.S. District Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. set sentencing on Aug. 12, 2015.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of the Inspector General in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
